Page 39 of The Widow's Dom

“You’re becoming stronger because of her instead of weaker. Enjoy her. You’re damn lucky to have her,” Jake said.

Chapter Nineteen

Nick thought about it all the way home. He pulled in, parked, walked upstairs to shower, and get a good morning kiss. When he saw the bed made, it looked like the night before didn’t happen, and he didn’t like the feeling it left in his gut.

He hurriedly showered and dressed before going to find her. Her truck was there, but he still couldn’t track her down. He didn’t like how worried he got and then noticed the horse she rode was missing, and her dog. She must have gone to see her son.

He started cleaning out the stalls and then brushing one of the horses. After an hour, he started getting concerned and called Shane.

“Hey, it’s Nick. Is your mother there?”

Shane laughed. “Hell, you lost her already.”

He snorted. “Funny.”

“No. I haven’t seen her this morning. She probably rode down to the pond if one of the horses is missing.”

“Where is that?”

“Get on the path that comes to my house but take the right side at the fork. That will take you there.”

“Are any of these horses good to ride?”

“Yeah. All of them. I’d pick Dakota for you. He’s a great horse.”

“All right. Thank you.”

“Hey, if you don’t find her, we’ll call in a search party.”

If Shane hadn’t been laughing, he would have cursed.

“You’re an ass,” Nick said, making Shane laugh harder. “Bye.”

Nick hung up and went to get Dakota. Within ten minutes, Nick was riding out. At first, he thought he’d gone the wrong way until he heard a horse whinny. He rode around a clump of trees to see her horse tied to a branch, and she was sitting with her back to a tree a few feet from the pond. He dismounted, tied off Dakota, and walked to her. She looked so sad sitting there it broke his heart.

“Hey, little squirrel.”

She jerked around to face him. “How did you know where to go?”

“Shane.”

She nodded.

He sat down beside her. “It kind of sounds like you didn’t want to be found.”

“No. That’s not it. I came here for some quiet time.”

He looked around. It was one of the most beautiful places he’d ever seen. The pond was clean with lily pads and a few ducks. Trees surrounded the area, and natural grasses and flowers grew everywhere. The dog lay off to the side, sleeping.

“This is a nice place to reflect,” he said. “Why are you sad? Do you regret having me move in?”

She gasped. “No. Not at all. But I think you regret it.”

His brows snapped together. “Why would you say that?”

“It’s just a feeling I have.”

Hell, what did he tell her? “I don’t regret it at all. It’s going to be an adjustment for both of us.”

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